Railway-switch-operating mechanism.



PATENTED JULY 28, 1908. P..J. GLANGBY. RAILWAY SWITCH OPERATINGMECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

GNN/tueuse@ PATENTE) JULY 28, 1908,

mii

@wi/mgm@ MM2/7 Vw l attoznuo uurrnn 'srnrns iinitrinv15T onnrcn.

PATRICK J. GLANCE-Y, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY-SWITCH-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application filed November 14, 1907.

To all whom it may concer/rt:

Be it known that I, PATRICK J. GLANCEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and fs State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailway- Switch-Operating Mechanism; and I do declare the -following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention7 such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to rail road switches and has for its object toprovide a mechanism whereby the switch may be operated by an approachingtrain or car, thus obviating the necessity of the trains stopping or ofany person leaving the car, to be exposed to the weather.

Another object is to provide a mechanism of this kind which is positiveand efficient in action, which can be easily and cheaply constructed andwhich is not likely to get out of order, but may be easily repaired.

Herein, I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, and while Ihave described minute details, I do not limit myself to them, as thedetails, sizes, and proportions shown are merely illustrative andmay bevaried without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of my device applied to arailroad switch with a car thereon about to operate the same. Fig. 2 isa top plan view. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view.` Fig. 4 is a sectionalview on the line 5,'5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 4-4 ofFig. 3. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the gear cases with thekeyplate removed; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the key-plates;and Fig.- 8 is a perspective view of one of the operating-shoe guards.

My device is illustrated in connection with a railroad switch comprisingstock rails, 1 and 2, the movable rails or points, 3 and 4, having someform of pivotal connection with the fixed rails 5 and 6, and connectedby a tie plate 7, provided on its lower side with rack teeth 8. crossties 9, the ties 10 and 11, 12 and 13, 14 and 15, being in pairs, asshown, forming a space therebetween for a purpose, to be explained. Atthe bottom of each tie of each of these pairs is an inverted U-shapedbearing box 16. in which is rotatively mounted a shaft 17 on which shaftare rigidly mounted Specification of Letters Patent.

The rails are supported by l Patented July 28, 1908.

Serial No. 402,174.

gear wheels, 18, 19 and 20, each one lying between a pair of ties, 10,11,12, 13, and 14, 15, the wheel 18 engaging the rack teeth 8 of the tieplate 7. These are shown with wheel 18 a little larger than the othertwo, but it is obvious that they may be made of any convenient relativeproportion. Placed between each of said pairs of ties and over saidgears are gear cases 21, 22, andv23.

rlhe gear case 23 is illustrated by Fig. 6 and consists of a slightlyresilient metal plate forming a broad side 24 and short sides 25 and 26.The sides 25 and 26 are provided with inwardly extending flanges 27, 28,the

Abroad side 24 being provided at its upper edge with an outwardlyextending ange 29. Between the sides 25, 26, just inside the flanges 27,28 is fitted a tapering key-plate 30, having an outwardly extendingflange 31. The fianges 27 and 31 are adapted to rest on the tops oftheir adjacent ties and may be nailed or otherwise fastened in place ifdesired. The broad side 24 and the key-plate 30 are provided withdownwardly extending slots 31, 32, adapted to receive the shaft 17.

The gear cases 21 and 22 are similar to the case 23 except that theshort sides 25 and 26 of the gear case 23 are provided with down? wardlyopening slots for a purpose which will be explained; and the distancebetween the side 25 and the slots 31 and 32 is greater than the distancebetween said slots and the side 26, while the reverse is true as to thegear case 22, the sides being equidistant in the gear case 21. The sides25 and 26 of gear case 21 are provided with upwardly opening slots, forthe reception of the tie rod 7. However, if desired, this case 21 may bedispensed with.

Vertically slidable against the more distant short side of the gear case22 and 23 and in engagement with the teeth ofthe gear wheels 19 and 20respectively, are supporting rack bar s 35, 36 carrying inclined contactshoes 37, 38. These rack bars 35, 36 are bent inwardly to bring thecontact shoes directly over the axis of the shaft 17, so that they willlie both in the central line of the track and be operated by one roller,as will be explained, or they may be left straight up so that the shoeswill not be both in the central line ofthe track, in which latter casetwo rollers could be used.

The cross-tie 15 may be extended laterally of the track and have pivotedat its outer end, as at 41, a lever 42 bearing a signal 43.

Pivoted to the lever 42, as at 44 is aconnecting bar 45, provided on itsopen face near its inner end with rack teeth 46. This bar slides betweenthe slots 33, 34 and is held against downward displacement by U-shapedhangers 47 having their ends bolted or otherwise fastened to the bottomof the ties 15, 16.

On each side of the shoes 37, 38 are sloping shoe guards 48 havingflanges 49 which may be perforated, as at 50, in order that the guardsmay be spiked down if desired. These guards are brought up to a slightlygreater height than the operating shoesand are effective in preventingthe switch from being operated by wagons, or the like, crossing thetrack. These shoes also serve to cover the gear cases to keep out dirtand the like. The gear case 21- maybe covered over with a metal plate51, if desired.

After the track has been laid and all the movable parts are in place,the gear plates are slipped in place, dirt or ballast is packedtherearound and the key-plate is wedged in place forcing the short sidesof the case outwardly to hold the case tightly in place. When it isdesired to remove the case, the key-plate is removed allowing the sidesof the case to move inwardly to loosen the case in place that it may bewithdrawn.

Fig. 1 shows my device about to be operated or tripped by a car. Howeverl do not limit myself to the operating means shown, this being merelyillustrative, as other means may be used, or said means may be attachedto a locomotive or to any species of rolling stock device.

As shown the switch tripping means consist of roller 52 journaled in thebifurcated ends 53 of a lever 54, ivoted to the bracket below the carfioor. bifurcated thrust-bar 57 has the roller 52 also journaled thereonand extends upwardly slidably through the floor of the car andterminates in a roughened enlargement 58 so that a person can lower theroller by pressing on said enlargement with his foot. Pivoted near saidthrustbar is a pawl 59 held by the spring 60 in one of the notches 61and 62. The pawl 59 receives any jar caused by sudden contact of theroller with the inclined shoe, which jar would otherwise be received bythe foot of the person lowering the roller. A lever 63 is provided bywhich the thrust-bar may be released in order that the roller 52 may bedrawn upwardly out of the way by the spring 64. When it is desired tooperate the switch, the enlargement 58 is pressed down, thereby causingthe roller 52 to bear against one or the other of the shoes 17, 18 asthe car passes. This movement of the shoe against the vertically movingrear bar causes the rack bar to engage the one of the gear wheels 19 or2O rotating the shaft 17 thereby moving the tie plate, which in turnmoves the points of the movable rails to one side or the other tooperate the switch. At the same time, by means of the connecting bar 45the signal 43 is moved to one side or the other to show the position ofthe switch. The switch does not have to be set when the car is movingtoward it from the opposite direction, as is well known. I

1f preferred, the shoe 38 may be higher than theshoe, 37, so that thethrust-bar may be set to notch 62, thereby to cause the roller to triponly the shoe 38. If the thrust-bar is set to notch 61 both shoes willbe tripped but as the tripping of shoe 37 reverses the position of theswitch as given by the tripping of shoe 38, it is clear that the switchmay be thrown either way accordingly as the thrust bar is set to notch61 or notch 62. If the roller 52 is brought between the shoes before itis lowered only the last shoe will be tripped or the first shoe may betripped and the roller raised without tripping the other rolls.

lf desired, two separate independently operated rollers may be providedside by side and the shoes placed out of line with each other. In thiscase the one shoe or the other could be tripped according to whichroller was lowered. I

It is thought that the operation of my device will be readily understoodwithout a more extended description.

Having described my invention, what I claim is: 4

1. In a device of the class described, a supporting structure andconnecting mechanism, a protecting case for said mechanism, consistingof a three sided case the two opposite sides having inwardly turnedflanges and a key plate adapted to pass between said opposite sides.

2. In a device of the class described, a switch having movable railpoints, a tie plate connecting said rail points and provided on itslower side with rack teeth, a shaft extending longitudinally of thetrack and between the rails thereof, a gear wheel on said shaft to meshwith the rack teeth of said tie plate, and additional gear wheels onsaid shaft and spaced apart longitudinally of the track, said gearwheels engaging substantially vertically movable rack bars having shoesat the upper end thereof, a rack bar slidably supported under one ofsaidl additional gears, a signal, operative connection between said rackbar and said signal, and means carried by a vehicle adapted to presssaid shoes.

3. In a device of the class described, a switch having movable rails, atie plate to connect said rails and provided with a rack on theunderside thereof, a shaft extending longitudinally of the track andbetween the rails thereof, gear wheels on said shaft, one of said gearwheels having operative connection with the rack of said tie plate, theother of said gear wheels engaging substantially vertically moving rackbars having shoes at the upper end thereof, a protecting case for saidgear wheels consisting of a three-sided case, the two opposite sideshaving inwardly turned anges and key plates adapted to pass between saidsides7 a signal operatively connected with one of said gears, and meansear- Witnesses:

red by a vehicle adapted to Contact one or S. D. ROBERTS, the other ofsaid shoes. l CEAS. I. KERN.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witl0 nesses.

PATRICK J GLANCEY.

